March is celebrated as Irish American Heritage Month, and is a great time to explore and celebrate Irish heritage,art and culture, whether that means attending a performance of Irish music or dancing, eating traditional dishes like soda bread, wearing green and searching for four-leaved shamrocks, or sampling some fine Irish whiskey.
Here are some new and contemporary mysteries, thrillers and romances set in Ireland or with characters of Irish heritage, as well as some insightful nonfiction available with your Library card that reflects the rich culture, history, and traditions of Ireland.
Fiction
The Coast Road by Alan Murrin
A poignant debut novel about the lives of women in a claustrophobic coast town and the search for independence in a society that seeks to limit it. Set in 1994, the novel tells the story of two women—Izzy Keaveney, a housewife, and Colette Crowley, a poet. Colette has left her husband and sons for a married man in Dublin. When she returns to her home in County Donegal to try to pick up the pieces of her old life, her husband, Shaun, a successful businessman, denies her access to her children. The only way she can see them is with the help of neighbour Izzy, acting as a go-between. Izzy also feels caught in a troubled marriage. The friendship that develops between them will ultimately lead to tragedy for one, and freedom for the other.
The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan
1994: When Gardas Julia Harte and Adrian Clancy are called out to a sleepy housing estate in Cork to investigate a noise complaint, they are entirely unprepared for what they find. What happens next will haunt Julia for the rest of her career, leaving her plagued with nightmares and terrified of the dark. 2024: Julia Harte, now retired with an illustrious career behind her, has moved to a tiny cottage in a remote part of Ireland, where she hopes to find peace. But then she receives a phone call from her old superintendent. Two women have been murdered, their bodies marked and staged, just like in ’94.
Dirty Laundry by Disha Bose
A clique of mothers in a small Irish village react to the murder of their queen bee, whose picture-perfect life made easy money on Instagram and whose death provided each of them something to gain.
The Drowned by John Banville
1950s, rural Ireland. A loner comes across a mysteriously empty car in a field. Knowing he shouldn’t approach but unable to hold back, he soon finds himself embroiled in a troubling missing person case, as a husband claims his wife may have thrown herself into the sea. Called in from Dublin to investigate is Detective Inspector Strafford, who soon turns to his old ally—the flawed but brilliant pathologist Quirke—a man he is linked to in increasingly complicated ways. But as the case unfolds, events from the past resurface that may have life-altering ramifications for all involved.
The Hunter by Tana French
Hailed as the queen of Irish crime fiction, French spins a taut tale of retribution, sacrifice, and family.”—TIME From the New York Times bestselling author of The Searcher and “one of the greatest crime novelists writing today” (Vox), a spellbinding new novel set in the Irish countryside. It’s a blazing summer when two men arrive in a small village in the West of Ireland. One of them is coming home. Both of them are coming to get rich. One of them is coming to die. Cal Hooper took early retirement from Chicago PD and moved to rural Ireland looking for peace. He’s found it, more or less: he’s built a relationship with a local woman, Lena, and he’s gradually turning Trey Reddy from a half-feral teenager into a good kid going good places. But then Trey’s long-absent father reappears, bringing along an English millionaire and a scheme to find gold in the townland, and suddenly everything the three of them have been building is under threat. Cal and Lena are both ready to do whatever it takes to protect Trey, but Trey doesn’t want protecting. What she wants is revenge.
The Irish Goodbye by Amy Ewing
After the death of her father, street photographer Cordelia takes a summer gig at a cozy cottage on Ireland’s Inishmore Island where she meets Niall O’Connor, a grumpy Irish chef, and the more their paths cross, the more they make each other’s lives hell until their hatred turns into undeniable attraction.
Love at First Book by Jenn McKinlay
Librarian Emily is thrilled when her favorite author offers her a job in Ireland. But she didn’t anticipate the author’s grouchy son, Kieran, putting a damper on her dream job — or the unexpected sparks between them.
Murder in an Irish Garden by Carlene O’Connor
While Siobhán studies for her Detective Sargent exams, her brother, Eoin, prepares for the grand opening of his new restaurant, The O’Sullivan Six, and concocts a plan to enter Kilbane’s Top Garden Contest to boost business. But trouble brews when Eoin hires a mercurial landscape designer known for her killer designs. His new partner’s unflattering reputation and questionable practices nearly eclipse her talents–and plunge the prestigious competition into chaos. A lush and intricate winning garden emerges from the controversy, with a spectacular golden statue in the center of the display. But in a devastating twist, the work of art leads to the shocking discovery of a bold and brutal work of murder.
No Comfort for the Dead by R. P. O’Donnell
In 1988, West Cork, Ireland, Emma Daly has returned home to Castlefreke to run the local library and forget her city scandal, but when the village’s richest man is murdered and a local family’s mysterious son is suspected, a widow, a hypochondriac, and Emma’s high school sweetheart help her solve the mystery.
Trust Her by Flynn Berry
Three years after they narrowly escaped the IRA’s worst punishment for informing, Northern Irish sisters Tessa and Marian Daly have built a new life in Dublin with their young children. Though Tessa is haunted by the abrupt and violent end to her old life, she does her best to immerse herself in the joys of Finn’s childhood and the rhythms of her new job at The Irish Observer. It’s a small island, though, and just as quickly as they disappeared, figures from the sisters’ past surface to drag them back into the conflict. Tessa is told she must track down her old handler from MI5, Eamonn, and attempt to turn him into an IRA informant, or lose everything. Tessa’s reunion with Eamonn revives a host of feelings she has long attempted to bury. As their relationship intensifies and the pressure mounts, long-held secrets rise to the surface, and Tessa must navigate a treacherous landscape of shifting loyalties, all while trying to protect her beloved son.
When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips
Thirty years after Louise attended Highfield Manor, a Dublin private school hiding dark secrets, she is drawn back into its sordid history when she gets a phone call from the brother of Shauna, a wealthy girl she befriended there.
Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan
Ireland is starving, and a poor Irish scullery maid falls in love with the British heir to the land. Can their romance stay hidden during the devastating famine? The potatoes are black, people are dying, and in the midst of it all, Nell must do everything she can to keep her family together and everyone she loves alive. It is hard to tell a love story and also the story of a people being torn apart.
The Women on Platform Two by Laura Anthony
In 1970s Dublin, all forms of contraception are strictly forbidden, but an intrepid group of women will risk everything to change that in this sweeping, timely novel inspired by a remarkable and little-known true story. Dublin, 1969: Maura has just married Dr. Christy Davenport and they look forward to growing their family. But as her husband’s vicious temper emerges, Maura worries that her home might never be safe for a child. Meanwhile, her close friend Bernie, a mother of three, learns the devastating news that if she conceives again, her health complications could prove fatal. Dublin, 2023: A close call makes Saoirse realize that she may never want to be a mother. Little does she know that only a few decades ago, a group of women made this option possible for her. And she’s about to meet one of them.
Non Fiction
Always Ireland : An Insider’s Tour of the Emerald Isle by Justin Kavanagh
From the emerald green coastal cliffs to centuries-old castles, hole-in-the-wall pubs to world-renowned distilleries, this richly illustrated narrative showcases Ireland’s best sights, bites, and experiences. Organized by region, Always Ireland will allow you to map your way through the country’s well-known places and hidden treasures alike, featuring must-do experiences, scenic destinations, and expert advice on where to stay, what to eat, and what to do. Each section offers in-the-know secrets and off-the-beaten path recommendations, featuring art galleries, hiking trails, national parks, fishing villages, and more. You’ll also discover favorites from Irish luminaries who know their country best, as well as recipes–from soda bread to Irish stew–to bring the tastes of Ireland into your home kitchen.
Four Shots in the Night : A True Story of Spies, Murder, and Justice in Northern Ireland by Henry Hemming
The search for justice for this one man’s death–his body found in broad daylight, with tape over his eyes, an undisguised hit–would deliver more than the truth. It exposed his status as an informant and led to protests, campaigns, far-reaching changes to British law, a historic ruling from a senior judicial body, a ground-breaking police investigation, and bitter condemnation from a US Congressional commission. And there have been persistent rumors that one of the country’s most senior politicians, the Sinn Fein leader Martin McGuinness, might have been personally involved in this particular murder. Relying on archival research, interviews, and the findings of a new complete police investigation, Four Shots in the Night tells a riveting story not just of this murder but of his role in the decades-long conflict that defined him–the Troubles.
George Washington and the Irish : Incredible Stories of the Irish Spies, Soldiers, and Workers who Helped Free America by Niall O’Dowd
The Irish played a huge role in the American Revolution, not just on the battlefield but also in the field hospitals and in the framing of the Declaration of Independence. O’Dowd takes readers on a journey into the unexplored contributions of the Irish in the American Revolution and behind the scenes of the relationships of some of those men and women with the first president of the United States.
On Every Tide : The Making and Remaking of the Irish World by S. J. Connolly
Starting in the 17th century, Irish clerics, mercenaries, and merchants began to fan out across America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, setting in motion a pattern of migration that would play an essential role in the development of the New World and the industrialization of the West. On Every Tide tells the epic story of this migration, showing how Irish emigrants were instrumental in shaping the world. They created powerful networks that allowed them to become a major global force in grassroots politics, the labor movement, and religion. Their movements allowed them to consolidate control of the powerful Catholic hierarchy, and Catholicism throughout the English-speaking world came to have a distinctly Irish face. The Irish also played a crucial role in the nineteenth-century land grab in the Anglophone world, often as the first settlers to colonize land out West or in the Outback. Rather than simply being victims of an underclass, the Irish leveraged their power–sometimes becoming oppressors themselves.
Opening Doors : The Unlikely Alliance Between the Irish and the Jews in America by Hasia R. Diner
The extraordinary untold story of how Irish and Jewish immigrants worked together to secure legitimacy in America. The Irish had emigrated to American cities en masse a generation before the first major wave of Jewish immigrants arrived, and had already entrenched themselves in positions of influence in urban governments, public education, and the labor movement. Jewish newcomers recognized the value of aligning themselves with another group of religious outsiders who were able to stand up and demand rights and respect despite widespread discrimination from the Protestant establishment, and the Irish realized that they could protect their political influence by mentoring their new neighbors in the intricacies of American life. Opening Doors draws from a deep well of historical sources to show how Irish and Jewish Americans became steadfast allies in classrooms, picket lines, and political machines, and ultimately helped one another become key power players in shaping America’s future.
Paddy Drinks : Modern Irish Whiskey Cocktails by Jillian Vose
A collection of Irish whiskey recipes from the acclaimed Dead Rabbit Grocery & Grog in New York City.
Plentiful Country: The Great Potato Famine and the Making of Irish New York by Tyler Anbinder
Acclaimed historian Anbinder presents for the first time the Famine generation’s individual and collective tales of struggle, perseverance, and triumph. Drawing on newly available records and a ten-year research initiative, Anbinder reclaims the narratives of the refugees who settled in New York City and helped reshape the entire nation.
A Return to Ireland : A Culinary Journey from America to Ireland by Judith McLoughlin
A cookbook that showcases fresh, innovative food and drink recipes which celebrate Irish-American heritage as it weaves the culinary and cultural journey of these two places that the author has come to call home. From the lush green fields of Gilford in County Armagh now settled in Atlanta, Georgia, McLoughlin shares her love of whole, fresh Irish ingredients with readers, sending them, one plate at a time, back to a simpler time.
–Archana, Adult Services & Acquisitions Librarian